Eskawatã Kawayai - The Spirit of Transformation

Eskawatã Kayawai - The Spirit of Transformation

Directed by Lara Jacoski and Patrick Belem |Brazil | 2023 | 72 min | Documentary | Rated M
In Hatxa Kuin and Portuguese with English subtitles

In the heart of the Amazon rainforest the First Nation Huni Kuin are experiencing the renaissance of their identity, after decades of slavery and being forbidden to live their culture. 

The spirit of Transformation shows the profound connection that the Huni Kuin people have with Ayahuasca and how its integration into their rituals led to the rediscovery of their culture. 

The documentary dives deep into their daily lives and their spiritual world through a rich narrative woven with the words of elders, leaders and children as they embrace the enchantment and mystery of the forest.

Six years in the making, this inspiring documentary suggests that it’s possible to rescue ancestral values to live in harmony with ourselves and the planet, building an ancestral future based on communion with nature, and finding new meaning and hope.

“How an indigenous group once slaved comes back to their original culture and finds a way how to thrive? For the Huni Kuin people at the Amazon forest, the answer is Ayahuasca.” - AV Club